Why it works: Milk and almond are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,800 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Prune Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the prunes
Soak prunes overnight.
Remove stones from prunes.
Place prunes in a porcelain-lined kettle with enough water to prevent burning.
Cook prunes until tender.
Add sugar to the prunes and let cool.
Once cool, press the mixture through a colander.
Make the pudding
Beat the egg whites to a stiff froth.
Soak gelatine in ½ cup of cold water for 30 minutes.
Heat the soaked gelatine until dissolved.
Stir the dissolved gelatine into the prunes and egg whites.
Pour the mixture into a mold.
Refrigerate to harden.
Make the custard
Beat the egg yolks and 2 tablespoons of sugar until light.
Add the custard mixture to boiling milk.
Cook for about 2 minutes until it thickens slightly, stirring constantly to prevent curdling.
Flavor the custard delicately with Virot's Almond extract.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Milk + almondtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,800 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Sugar + almondtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Prunes
- Provide the main body, sweetness and dark fruit flavour of the pudding.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to a foam, they lighten the texture and help the pudding set airy.
- Gelatine
- Sets the prune mixture so it holds its shape when chilled.
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the custard and add richness.
- Milk
- Forms the base of the custard, adding creaminess.
The step that matters
Cook the custard with constant stirring. Egg yolks scramble and curdle if they overheat or sit still in hot milk. Stirring constantly and cooking only until it thickens slightly keeps the custard smooth.
Swap the almond
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, milk):
- Pecansfits about as well
- Almondthe original
- Cocoafits about as well
- Walnutfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, milk. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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